School lunch participation not just down in Somerset

Sunday

Apr 27, 2014 at 12:01 AM

SOMERSET — When presented with concerns from Somerset School Committee members about why more students are not buying lunches in the cafeterias, John Gersbeck, senior vice president for Whitsons School Nutrition, said that food purchases in schools have been down across the country because of new federal requirements that require certain foods and ingredients in them to be served to students.

George Austin

SOMERSET — When presented with concerns from Somerset School Committee members about why more students are not buying lunches in the cafeterias, John Gersbeck, senior vice president for Whitsons School Nutrition, said that food purchases in schools have been down across the country because of new federal requirements that require certain foods and ingredients in them to be served to students.

Whitsons School Nutrition has been managing the food services in Somerset Schools since January of 2013.

Joe Armenti, district manager for Whitsons School Nutrition, said his company uses wholesome natural ingredients, lean proteins, healthy snacks and foods to accommodate allergies in cafeterias. He said pizza is made from scratch. But he said children are struggling with eating foods that have whole grain ingredients in them.

Somerset School Committee member Victor Machado asked representatives from Whitsons how they know if children like certain foods being served in the cafeterias without sending a survey home to parents. Mr. Gersbeck said Whitsons looks at the average participation on days when certain foods are being served to figure out what the likes and dislikes are for the program. He said the company also gets input from staff.

Mr. Armenti said he has talked to students at Somerset Middle School and North Elementary School and has found that long lines are a problem that the students complain about, so he said another line was added where children could buy lunch. He said a lot of students at North Elementary School say they like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but the company is not allowed to serve them. He said the students were asked what they liked and didn't like in the cafeteria.

"We listened to what they said and made changes," Mr. Armenti said.

Mr. Machado said his daughter, who is in elementary school, says she does not like the food in the school cafeteria. He said she buys lunch one day a week. When he went to sit with her at lunch, he said there were eight students at the table and only two of them purchased lunch.

To promote the food service program, Mr. Armenti said food tasting has been done, samples have been provided to students and feedback was solicited from parents at a mathematics competition.

Mr. Armenti said there has also been an increase in the price of lunch at the schools during the past year.

Mr. Armenti said the company has faced some staff issues with the cafeteria manager being out at North Elementary School all year and other workers taking extended leaves.

On the numbers of students buying lunch being down, Mr. Armenti said the cafeterias did not have the purchase of sale systems that have been installed this year, so records may not have been accurate.

Mr. Armenti said the school store at the high school has been selling candy at lunch and said there is not supposed to be any competition with the school lunch program.

Mr. Machado said he was bothered that Whitsons was the only company to bid on the food service contract. He said that might have been because the school district rushed the process. Mr. Machado said there are other companies out there that could manage the food service in the schools.

"I haven't been impressed by the service," Mr. Machado said.

Mr. Machado asked the Whitsons representatives to send a survey about the food service program to parents.

"We want feedback," Mr. Gersbeck said. "It's the only way a program gets better."

Mr. Machado questioned whether students would give the Whitsons representatives honest answers when they were talking to them. Mr. Gersbeck said the bid process that was used was required by the state and other companies may have just decided not to bid on the contract in Somerset.

Mr. Armenti said he thinks the federal government and Whitsons are going in the right direction with the food service program because children are eating healthier.

Somerset School Committee Chairman Robert Camara said the schools have a partnership with Whitsons and they have to make the food service work. He said the School Department has to come up with creative ways to increase participation in the school lunch program.

"This is a joint issue that we all need to work on and, clearly, if they are not eating the food we prepare for them, we have to understand why," Mr. Camara said.

School Department Business Manager Marc Furtado has projected a $62,000 deficit for the year for the food service program for the elementary schools and middle school.

Somerset School Committee member Jamison Souza said the city of Los Angeles is losing $1 million a day in its school lunch program. Mr. Gersbeck said Whitsons can market the food service program through the parent-teacher organizations, its web site and the school department's wellness council.

"We need more in-your-face marketing when we can meet with people and talk to them," Mr. Gersbeck said.

Mr. Gersbeck said Whitsons could also help to make up for the deficit in the program through doing catering in the schools for events that are already being catered, like sports awards banquets.

School Committee member Lori Rothwell said she had her daughter, who is in elementary school, do a poll of students to see what they think is wrong with the food service program. She said the main issue her daughter brought back was long lines and not enough time to eat their food. She said students have more time to eat if they bring their lunch from home so they do not have to wait in the lines. Ms. Rothwell said she has been noticing that Whitsons has been offering foods that the company has found students like on a more frequent basis which she thinks is a good approach.

Before Whitson's took over management of the food service for the schools, Mr. Furtado said the program was losing $60,000 to $70,000 per year for several yeas. In an audit of the food service program, he said the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found problems with food past expiration dates, damaged packaging, poor storage techniques, no formal recipe program, workers not having required certifications, a lack of training, not meeting federal and state nutritional requirements and not making substantial capital investments in cafeterias for a long time.

Mr. Gersbeck said the Somerset food service program passed an inspection from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with flying colors since Whitson's has been managing the program.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.